Tinderbox Training Video 26 - Daily Journal Time Tracking Project Management Part 1

Training Videos
1

Tinderbox Training Video - Daily Journal Time Tracking Project Management Part 1
Level Advanced
Published Date 1/24/21
Tags Tinderbox, aTbRef, 4Cs of Knowledge Exchange, Action Code, Export Code, Stamps, Separators, Incudes, Variable Cache, Agents, Daily Journal, Time Tracking, Project Management, Prototypes, Attributes, Plots, Timeline View, Hyperbolic View, Chart View, Attribute Browser, Treemap View, Crosstabs, Linking, Outline View, Map View
Video Length 35:57
Video URL Tinderbox Training - Daily Journal Time Tracking Project Management Part 1 - YouTube
Example File TBX - L Managing Daily-Journal-Time-Projects-FINAL30JAN21.zip (121.5 KB)
Revision 3, Jan 31, 2021
Related Lesson Tinderbox Training Video 27 - TBX - Deconstructing Daily Journal Date Descendants Management
TBX Version 8.9
Instructor Michael Becker
Forum Post URL

In this lesson, well, this is not exactly a lesson just yet, but it will be in future parts; I introduce you to my Tinderbox Daily Journal, Time Tracking, and Project Management Tinderbox file. I use this file, personally, every day to manage my work, play, and personal growth.

This file is a whale. It is a comprehensive integration of the vast majority of Tinderbox capability, as applied to daily journaling, time tracking, and project management. It includes, notes, agents, prototypes, attributes, action code, templates, export code, plots, separators, includes, cached variables, stamps, operators, every Tinderbox view, regex, back-references, designators, dot operators, performance optimization strategies, and so much more.

I’m putting this file out now so that everyone can use it, deconstruct it, ask questions, and give me feedback. In the coming weeks, I’ll record short videos focusing on not just how I implemented certain elements of this file but my intent behind the implementation and why I made the design decisions I did. Suffice it to say; this file went through significant rounds of incremental formalization.

Again, this is a big file, and it will be ever-evolving. I would love it if you help me refine it. I’d like to hear from you on,

  • Any questions you have on the how to’s, the why’s, and the what’s
  • What you don’t understand in this file
  • Your thoughts on alternative approaches to optimize the action code, variable caching, prototype, etc.
  • Catching “ghost code”
  • Your logic and approaches for journaling, project, time and activity tracking
  • Report formats
  • File organization
  • Ways to apply other Tinderbox capabilities to this file
  • What your personal Tinderbox use cases are and how you’ll apply what you see here to them
  • And anything else you’d like to discuss

Thank you.

Please reach out to me on the Tinderbox Forum or email me [ee42patx@pocketgeekid.com](mailto:ee42patx@pocketgeekid.com?subject=Tinderbox Training Questions and feedback). Also, please connect with me on LinkedIn.

TBX - L Managing Daily-Journal-Time-Projects

Reference Material
* aTbRef: A Tinderbox Reference File

BTW, I did a preliminary review of this file at the Jan 23 Meetup, you might find it useful to watch that too:
2020-01-23
Video: 2021-Jan-24 Tinderbox Meetup on Vimeo
Chat:
Forum: thread

4 Likes
2

HI Micheal,

Thanks for posting this. MAGNUM OPUS INDEED.

I’m looking forward to future deconstruction videos on these.

  • Video to meetup is listed wrong. 2021-Jan-24 Tinderbox Meetup on Vimeo
  • There were additional text files discussed during meet-up which were to be posted, I assume they will come in future videos? Or they can be posted earlier?
  • Is there a order in which you’ve planned deconstruction video?
  • Your philosophy here would be to have a file for each month/quarter (aka Bullet Journal Style) and move items or keep moving archived items out of the file?

Personal Suggestion
I see you are tracking a lot of personal growth items (which I do too) , I’ve found it much easier to log using mobile device. I currently use STRIDES(for iOS) which allow me to track & comment on activity and easy CSV export, the same can be imported back into TB or excel for easy(ish) analysis.

3

Whoops, copied the wrong one. Fixed.

4

Yes, my plan was to release those with future videos. Let me see what I can do about pulling those together. For now, you’ll find all the code in the Rules & Edicts.

5

Nope, not at this time. Would you like to help me create that plan? Just give me your priorities and I can use that.

6

I’m still in the “incremental formalization” stage, a term @mwra exposed me too. One I’ve learned to embrace. Part of me wants to see how big the file can get until it goes belly up, then archive. Another part says use the archive and them incrementally move things out. While another part has not even thought about it because there is so much going on. So, answer is I don’t know. What I do know, is I’m personally using it every day and getting tons of value. I’ve already started making a handful of incremental changes. I’ll be updating the base file a few days.

7

Oh, I’m so glad you see it this way. It really has been a TON OF WORK. Has brought me great joy. It is nice for the effort to be recognized. I and I sincerely hop that people will benefit it and support my efforts so that I can continue with this work. Thank you!

8

Absolutely I can help with the plan as well. This is how my priority will work, feel free to edit

  • We can start with Daily Journaling which will be the building block

I love how you have allowed for individual events and meetings to take place in some day , and yet allowed a time tracking smart lists which allow to see all events / non events etc .

  • We can look at different time tracking lists only in context of daily journaling only.

  • We further explore any topics items related to above such as archiving old entries ,

  • We look at Projects , sub tasks , how due dates auto work

  • We revisit time tracking but now in context of Projects ,also taking priority in picture

  • High level concept of Annual Planning , Pie-Charts to see 50,000 ft will definitely require separate videos

I feel in each of your deconstruction video , some context(brief philosophy) would help the user (me) to understand why you are doing some of things you do

9

I’ll definitely check it out.

10

Cool! You free later this afternoon or this week? Perhaps we can jump on a Zoom call and we can build out a plan. Shoot me a private message. I can show you the outline for the book I’m working on too. Would love you ideas.

1 Like
11

Messaging you.

12

Interesting to see what is possible – a lot more than I might have imagined.

I have sometimes thought that a good way for a user to learn Tinderbox would be to create a Tinderbox file about learning Tinderbx. And that leads me to think that it would be interesting to have a series of Tinderbox files at different stages of development. Instead of asking the student to deconstruct the file, it might be useful to see how an experienced user goes from the very first blank file and gradually builds in new elements. (Probably that is what you are planning.) The learner could then look at Tbx1, followed by Tbx2, Tbx3, etc., and see the building process at each stage, making comparisons between the files in sequence. I’m all in favour of small chunks, but I think that chaining them in sequence could be very powerful.

13

That is exactly what I’m planning. Now that I have the file that is, for the most part optimized, I am going to take it from three approaches: 1) decontract the file, i.e. “Here is how I did this and why”, 2) Start fresh and build in real-time through a series of points (a lot like what @beck did in her wonderful 4-part 2019 videos, and 3) conduct a series of technique videos, with an explanation and suggestions on where this technique might apply in a different context (in regards to this point, I’d love to know other people’s context, e.g. professor, student, lawyer, doctor, writer, project or product manager, and the project they’re working on, e.g. literature review, case analysis, book or article, project execution or product development, etc.).

On this last point RE context, does anyone of any suggests on how we can most efficiently collect insight on TBX user’s context and projects?

14

HI ,

One of the things you’ve achieved is by typing shortcuts of mtg- and tsk- to do linking/expanding , could you tell me how that was done.

16

I’m not exactly sure which part you’re referring to. Can you give a screenshot?

17

I tried to create a fresh Project. I can see it but it does not look active.
I must miss something. Need a more smaller step intro to this, may be.

18

HI Micheal,
This got sorted during the Zoom Meetup. I wanted the $name.beginswith or $name.contains

Thanks

19

Inactive means? I believe Milestone has to be created within a project for this file for the due dates to be activated.

20

within the existing project the example of the video work fine.

21

Morning, can you provide a screenshot? What does “not look active” mean? What is your expected experience or behavior?